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Flood of emails..

Rich Z

Rich Z

Administrator
Staff member
Lately I am getting just overwhelmed with emails and cannot keep up with them. From people having problems logging in to one site or another, questions about egg binding, or basic care, to hatch dates for animals I have shipped out, it's more than I can handle right now. Oh yeah, I DO have to sell animals so I can pay the bills around here too.

We are doing a show in Orlando this weekend, and the week before a show is always extremely stressful. Not to mention I am still setting up 20+ clutches of eggs every night on top of everything else going on. I may have as many as 30-40 clutches of eggs dropped while we are away for the weekend, so I hope I don't lose too many of them. I should have known better than to schedule a show at this time of year.

So if a reply to your email takes longer than you think it should, or if it even falls off of my radar scope, please forgive me. I just can't be everything to everyone.

Sorry..........
 
Rich
I don't think I could ever begin to imagine what a typical day for you is like. Don't worry about those dates I asked for. They aren't that important. I don't even know you but I know " you the man!"

Scott
 
I certainly cannot speak for Rich, and I wouldn't even try. However, I took some quick figures to the o'le calculator, and came up with some interesting thoughts!

Based on the roughly 4,000 hatchlings Rich is expecting this year,

Figuring that he's able to feed twenty hatchlings every ten minutes (I have no idea how accurate this is or isn't, but given the time necessary to prepare the mice, feed the snakes, and make sure they actually get the meals down, I think it's probably not too far off the mark!),

That comes to 33.33 hours to feed the whole lot of them.

Figuring that Rich works eleven hour days (I'm certain he works much longer than that, but 11 hours makes the math easier! ;)),

That comes to Rich taking three days just to feed the hatchlings!!!


Now, obviously, he doesn't have all 4,000 wanting to eat at once. They hatch in at varying rates, and they are sold off at varying rates. Even so, that's three days of absolutely NOTHING but feeding, and it doesn't even take into account the older yearling and adult animals!

When you take the other animals into account, plus the day-to-day necessities of the business (building racks, getting new sweater and shoe boxes ready for keeper snakes as they age, ordering supplies, keeping the premises up for the actual performance of business, etc), plus the shipping of sold animals, PLUS going the shows as they roll into full season . . .I'm shocked he has time for the four websites he hosts or anything else he does!!!!!!!

The problems of my thirty or so snakes pale in comparison . . .that's for sure! :D
 
Close, but no cigar. Connie and I clean and feed the babies in shifts. First pass through is to clean and give them fresh water. Next pass is to offer them food. Just to clean and give them fresh water takes close to 1 minute per animal. 32 per basket and I figure close to a half hour for each basket just. It takes 7 minutes to feed that same basket.

I figure we have at least 1000 of the 2002 animals remaining, more of them than is sane are keepers. And those 2002 animals that are surplus HAVE to get out of the way before the 2003 animals start hatching. Because then, we REALLY get busy.
 
2 part time workers, plus my wife busts her butt helping me.

To be perfectly honest, this business doesn't pay enough money to be able to hire a lot of help. Caught between a rock and a hard place. If all I am doing is paying the workers wages and not making any money myself, then it would be better to cut it all loose and become a 'greeter' at WalMart.

That is why I do not recommend anyone thinking this is an excellent way to form a business and quit their day job. It's far too much work for only money.
 
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I'd help you 24/7 just to be with the snakes. Its my dream to be a breeder someday...*sigh* as for the mails, I get that many in bulk :D I think that if someone has a question, they should just post it on the board an be patient enough for a reply. There are alot of people here willing to help them. As for that job... wanna adopt me? I am an adorable child, straight A+s this quarter, and I clean up after myself. Now are you dying for me???:D ;)

:p keep up the good work Rich. A lot of people are out there saying 0-0... "You're my hero!"
 
24/7??

Slacker!! If you want to work here, you need to put in long hours just like the rest of us!

;)
 
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